Title: Who I Am, What I Was
Fandom: Donald Strachey Mysteries
Rating: G
Media: Mixed media, bookmaking (sort of)
Notes: Behind the cut. The images are very large so I could show detail. That might present a problem for people with slower internet speeds.

This clickable thumbnail below takes you to my photobucket account where you’ll see a very large image. The same image is behind the cut.





I think most of us who participate in the Donald Strachey Mysteries fandom view movieverse Don as coming from an emotionally rough background. Movie canon gives few indications either way, and that leaves the question open to interpretation and lots of hurt/comfort fic.

For the self-portrait prompt, I decided to show four periods in Don's life. I chose a noun and three adjectives to describe him and used screencaps from Chad Allen's various films to illustrate those words, keeping the primary focus on the DSM films. Then I made a four-fold book with pockets to hold the pictures.

Screencaps from “What Matters Most” show a pensive high school student, uncertain of his place in the world:



In the second stage of Don’s life, we see him posing with Lt. Kyle Griffin in Kuwait (Don's a former Army sargeant). The screencap comes from the DSM film “Shock to the System.” In the third stage, he’s a private investigator (Don's profession), continuously looking over his shoulder. Screencap is from “Paris.”



In the current stage, Don has met and married the love of his life, Timothy Callahan. Screencap is from the DSM film “Third Man Out.”



I designed the project so different pictures could be displayed. The second set of pictures includes a screencap from “Third Man Out,” and the last one has a screencap from the DSM film “On the Other Hand, Death.”



I had a lot of fun pulling this together. I used some pretty cardstock to make the book, using brads to hold the pockets together. Scribble-painted paper (I love that technique) provided the background for the words. I painted popsicle sticks with orange and gold acrylic paints, and the photos were printed on heavy cardstock.

In the few things I’ve made so far, I’ve discovered I have a liking for chains. I wanted to use one of the many I have in my stash, but they were either too short or too heavy for the purpose. I ended up crocheting a chain from embroidery thread and attaching it with brads.

I attached a crow to the end that shows Don as a kid. Crows are my favorite birds — they’re so smart and inventive, and they’re cocky, too. I figured a young Donald Strachey would need those traits. I used yellow beads to represent caution and one blue bead to represent hope.

I attached a swallow on the final picture because for me swallows represent freedom. Donald has put his past behind him and can continue to grow from here. On this end, I have more blue beads, symbolizing a happy life, but I included a yellow one so that Don remembers he can’t always rush headlong into danger — he’s got Timothy to consider.

It’s lucky for me that Chad Allen has has such a varied career and successfully transitioned from child actor to adult actor. I had loads of screencaps from which to choose. Thanks, Chad!